Revelations and Redemption
by Charlotte Webber
Summary: Leah finds a photo and article in a tabloid magazine titled "Giant Wolf Terrorizes Tahlequah, Okla." Could the rogue shifter be Embry and Sam's father, Joshua Uley? written as thanks for 2K reviews for LSaTYLF


**A/N Thank you to everyone that reviewed LSaTYLF and helped me reach my goal! **

**Congratulations to ****mysteryfan09**** for writing the two-thousandth review! She also reviewed all but three chapters (which is just freaking amazing!)**

**But the title for most reviews posted goes to ****liljenrocks**** she only missed two chapters. I wish I could list every single one of you. But then the list would be too long for anyone to bother reading.**

**Okay, I know I said this was going to be a one-shot, but ... you know how I am. I started out focused on one storyline and soon other characters started demanding more screen-time. **

**I took a break from writing my novel to work on this, thinking I would be able to wrap it up in a couple of days. I like where this is going and although it won't be another saga, I would like to keep working on it. Updates will be sporadic since I need to get back to SoG. Research will be non-existent (it takes too much time) and even though I'll try to stay faithful to the LSaTYLF universe, I might take some creative license to make this story work. Anyway ... here it is...**

**Chapter One: **

"Oh no you don't." Leah grabbed the Butterfingers candy bar out of Theresa's hands and put it back on the shelf. Torn wrapper and all. She pulled a crumpled twenty out of her purse to pay for the gas and set it on the counter.

The pimple-faced kid behind the cash register smacked her gum and handed Leah her change. Three dollars and forty-three cents? Leah cocked her head to the side and frowned. What the hell?

The kid said, "Thank-you-come-again," but the sneer on her face pretty much cancelled the sentiment. What had she done to piss off the clerk?

"Excuse me, but you didn't give me the correct change."

"Yeah, I did."

"No. You didn't. I put thirteen dollars and twenty-eight cents worth of gas in my car—pump number three—and with tax that makes it fifteen dollars, even. I gave you a twenty, you owe me five bucks." Leah always calculated the exact amount of gas plus tax to keep from having to deal with loose change.

"You gotta pay for the candy."

"What?"

"Your kid mucked up that candy bar. I saw you put it back on the shelf after he opened it." Theresa pressed against Leah's side and hid her face. She never said a word in public.

"First of all, my child is a girl." Theresa had on overalls, but she was wearing a pink t-shirt and had a barrette in her hair. "And if you don't want 'mucked up' candy on your shelves, then don't put it where kids can reach it so easily."

"Look, lady. I just work here, I don't stock the shelves and I gotta charge you for the candy."

Leah ignored the faint tingling sensation creeping down her spine and gritted her teeth. There was a line forming behind her and people were coughing, clearing their throats, and tapping their feet. If she had to pay for the damn candy, then she sure as hell wasn't leaving the store without it. She leaned over to retrieve the candy bar and froze. Her lips parted as she inhaled a sharp and shallow breath—sort of a reverse gasp. Leah's mouth went dry as she yanked a magazine off the rack next to the candy.

Wild black eyes, white-rimmed and haunted, stared back at her from the lower right hand cover of the sleazy tabloid. Leah felt the blood drain from her face. The photo was small, grainy and out of focus, the subject disheveled and filthy with long unkempt and matted fur, but she recognized the lupine face of a shape-shifter. She flipped the rag open searching for the article that went with the picture and read **"Giant Wolf terrorizes Tahlequah, Oklahoma."**

"If you want to read the magazines you gotta pay for them, too."

Leah added a couple of ones to the money still on the counter. She didn't even count her change when the clerk handed it to her. She double-checked to be sure Theresa put her seatbelt on and sat behind the wheel for five minutes before her hands quit shaking.

"I wanna go to Georgie's house."

Leah handed her daughter the open candy bar and prayed it would distract her enough to abort the temper-tantrum brewing in the back seat.

"Not today, sweetie-pie. Mama needs to talk to Daddy about something very important." And potentially devastating.

###

As soon as they got home, Theresa stomped off to her room and slammed her door. She'd scream for five minutes, cry for half an hour, then fall asleep for two. It was a familiar routine.

As soon as the screaming subsided, Leah called Embry and told him to come home. She wished she'd told him about his mother's journal, the day she found it. She just never figured out a way to bring it up. _Guess what Embry, I found your mother's diary and read the entire thing cover to cover and figured out you and Sam share the same daddy. Sorry about not mentioning it sooner._

Leah couldn't hide the truth any longer. She had to tell him. And show him. Some of it was pretty graphic and Leah knew that reading his mother's journal would upset Embry. No one wanted to read intimate details about their own conception. But he needed to know the truth.

So did Sam.

###

The three of them sat around the Call's kitchen table and studied the photo and article in the tabloid.

"What do you think, Sam? Is it him?" Embry stared at Sam as if he'd never seen him before. And in a way, he hadn't, not really, not as his half-brother.

"How the hell would I know?" Sam ran his hand through his hair then folded his arms across his chest. "But I guess we better check it out."

"I agree." Embry chewed on his lip then said, "I think we should leave immediately. In case he decides to move on … since his picture's in the paper and all."

"Yeah, I know. But Em's pregnant again and not feeling so good. Morning sickness is really bad this time."

Leah rolled her eyes. She had long since gotten over any hurt Sam and Emily had inflicted, but she couldn't help feeling a little resentment at the news of yet another Uley brat on the way.

She would love to have another baby, but not unless she was sure the child would be immortal. They still weren't a hundred percent sure that Theresa would phase, but her chances were better than most since both parents were shifters. Her rapid growth, normal body temp of a hundred and one and volatile temper were pretty good indicators as well.

Embry slumped forward in his chair and rested his elbows on the table. "Are you going to tell your mom?"

Sam's eyes flashed with anger. "And just what the hell should I tell her? Guess what, Mom? We aren't the only ones dear old dad screwed over. He impregnated a fifteen-year-old kid before he disappeared. But don't worry about it. It's not his fault. See, he turned into a giant wolf and imprinted on her so that makes everything okay."

Embry was only using the top third of his lungs to breathe. His nostrils flaring each time he inhaled. Leah put a hand on his shoulder and that seemed to unlock his chest. He took a huge breath then exhaled it all with one long sigh.

Sam used a foul word Leah hadn't heard come out of his mouth since… well, ever… and said, "She doesn't even know that _I'm _a shifter. She isn't supposed to know _anything_ about the pack. Unlike _your mother_ who has the _right_ to know since she's his freaking imprint."

What an ass. Did Sam think he was the only one hurt by this news? Probably. "Gee, Sam. Maybe you could explain how to resist an imprint when you see him. You know, since you're so good at it."

The corners of Embry's mouth tightened and his eyebrows crept towards each other. It was subtle—no one else would have noticed. Way to go, Leah. Defend the father and wound the son. Not quite what she had in mind.

She could try to make it better by saying something to the effect of how the day Sam imprinted was the best day of her life, but since they all had perfect recall of Leah's two-year-long depression after Sam dumped her, that probably wouldn't help. She moved her hand from Embry's shoulder to his thigh and gave it a little squeeze. He arched an eyebrow and gave her a closed-mouth smile.

Her touch said "I'm sorry."

His smile said, "Don't worry about it."

Sam said, "Well, what do you want to do?"

Embry glanced at Leah's hand, still resting on his thigh and grinned. "I know what I want to do, but Theresa's going to wake up from her nap soon so I guess a quickie before I go back to work is out of the question." Embry always used humor to cover his pain, but Leah knew he wasn't joking about nap-time sex.

She dug her fingers into Embry's quadricep making him jerk his leg and yelp in surprise. She also bit her lower lip and pulled it slowly between her teeth. Her eye-lids drifted half-closed as she inhaled deeply savoring Embry's musky scent.

Sam wrinkled his nose and made a you-two-are-so-disgusting noise in the back of his throat. Leah wanted to slap him or at least make a sarcastic remark about how he had no right to roll his eyes at them when he knocked up his wife every nine months.

Sam pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. "I need to get home. I have to talk this over with Emily."

###

Leah hated leaving Theresa with the Cullens. It went against every instinct, maternal and wolf, to leave her baby with blood-sucking leeches while she and Embry drove half-way across the country. But Emmett and Rose had one thing that no one else had … George.

The half-vamp adopted son of Rose and Emmett was Theresa's soulmate and the only person that could calm her when she got … upset. George was devoted to Theresa and had been since the day of her birth. It was almost as if he'd imprinted on her. But that didn't mean he wasn't just as spoiled rotten as his twin sister.

George was constantly pushing the boundaries and his parent's buttons—playing pranks, staying out past curfew, hot-wiring any car in the Cullen fleet—but he was an answer to prayer when it came to Theresa.

Sophie, on the other hand, was completely out of control. She had an appetite for human boys that was going to get her entire family into serious trouble one of these days. At least she wasn't venomous. Leah refused to think about the reason Sophie was so miserable. Even though it wasn't her fault, she still felt guilty about the broken imprint. Embry had always loved her like a daughter, and Leah had learned to as well, but Sophie wouldn't listen to them either.

"Theresa, buckle up until I turn the car off. You know the rule." She should anyway. Leah repeated it every time they turned into the driveway leading to the Cullen's mansion.

"I'm fine. Just drive safe, Mom."

Leah pulled over, pressed the child-lock button and turned the car off.

"MOM!" Theresa grabbed the door handle and started yanking on it even though she'd heard the locks click.

Leah watched her daughter's melt-down in the rear-view mirror and wondered how in the world her sweet, calm, infant had turned into such a tyrant in just four short years.

"Put your seatbelt back on if you want to stay with George, or I'm turning around right now and taking you to Grandma Sue's instead."

"You are so mean! I hate you!"

Good grief. What was the kid going to be like when she hit puberty?

"I'm sorry to hear that, Tess. You make me angry too, but I love you. So does Grandma Sue and Grandpa Charlie. They're going to be so happy to spend some quality time with you."

"NO! I'm putting it on! See, I'm buckled up. Please, Momma, let me stay with Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett. I'll be good. I promise."

"Alright." Leah was relieved Theresa hadn't called her bluff. Sue and Charlie weren't even home yet.

George was waiting for them on the porch, as usual. He would have been at the end of the driveway if Leah hadn't insisted he quit meeting them at the highway.

"MOM! Unlock the door!"

"Don't you mean 'unlock the door, please?'"

"PLEASE!"

As soon as the locks clicked Theresa tumbled out of the car and into George's arms. Leah knew it was completely platonic, but it still bothered her to see her little girl in the arms of a six-year-old adolescent boy. This whole age thing was so messed up.

###

Leah would never get used to the stench of vampires but she'd learned to keep her face politely relaxed even when she thought she would gag from the smell. She had no idea how Jake could stand it for hours at a time. Imprinting on a half-vamp probably had something to do with it. Theresa didn't seem to notice it at all, but then, none of them had until they phased.

George already had the Wii hooked up and Mario Go Carts loaded and ready to go. Theresa squealed in delight and Leah rubbed her temples. "Remember, no more than two hours a day in front of any kind of a screen. And no junk-food."

Theresa pressed her lips together so tightly they turned white around the edges and glared at Leah. A clear warning to stop embarrassing her. Well, too bad, sweetie-pie. Rules were rules and Leah wasn't about to give her daughter the excuse of, 'But you didn't tell me.'

"And no talking back to Aunt Rose or Uncle Emmett. You do what they say. They're in charge, not George." Leah cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows as she locked gazes with George. She didn't like the sparkle in his eyes or his mischievous smirk, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

"I'm trusting you to keep her out of trouble, George." His smile faded just a bit and he lowered his chin half an inch, but he didn't break eye-contact.

"Yes, ma'am."

Respect without submission, it would have to do for now. Maybe Embry could stop by on his way home from work and put the fear of God into him again. Rose and Emmett were made of stone but neither of them had a backbone when it came to their kids.

"Here, let me get those for you." George grabbed Theresa's suitcase as soon as Leah popped the trunk. "Wow! Tess, what'd you do, bring your entire bedroom?"

Theresa didn't answer. She just shrugged her shoulders and suddenly found her shoes very interesting. What was going on? She'd never acted shy around George before, yet Theresa was trying to hide her face. What she couldn't hide was her pounding heart. Crap.

###

Leah tried to keep her tone casual, but she wasn't fooling anyone either. "Are Edward and Bella around by any chance?"

George rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. He must have figured out that Edward had to read his thoughts before Theresa was allowed to visit without her parents' supervision. What the boy didn't know, was that this time, Leah was more interested in learning what was inside her daughter's head.

As if on cue, Edward appeared at the front door. "Hello, Leah, Theresa. It's good to see you again. Won't you come in?" He gestured them through the door with a slow fluid sweep of his arm like a freakin' butler or something.

"Hey, Grandpa, how's it going?" Leah couldn't resist teasing him about his daughter's habit of popping out kids every bit as fast as Emily Uley.

He just smiled politely and asked, "How may I be of assistance?" He knew damn well what she wanted. Leah narrowed her eyes and Edward's genteel smile turned into a smirk.

"Perhaps we should go for a brief walk, while Theresa gets settled in."

"Sure." Everyone's eyebrows rose, even Theresa's when Leah agreed.

Ever the gentleman, Edward freaking Cullen pulled branches out of way and tried to hold Leah's hand as she stepped over a fallen log. _Cut it out. I'm just as competent in the woods as you are._

"I'm Sorry, Leah. I meant no offense."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Are we far enough away now that no one is going to hear us."

"Yes."

"Well, are you going to tell me what I want to know?"

Edward smiled and this time his eyes lit up._ Creepy. Oops, sorry 'bout that. _

"No, it's fine. As long as Bella likes my eyes that's all that matters."

_Gross. Do not think about vampire sex… Do not think about vampire sex…_

Edward laughed out loud and Leah had to admit, it was a lovely sound. _Lovely?_ _Where the hell did that come from._ She needed to get out of here.

"I'm sorry, Leah, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. The answer to your question is, yes. Theresa's feelings for George are changing. She's quite confused and worried about what it means."

_What does it mean? Is she attracted to him?_

"Yes. Very."

"Oh, crap." _I can't leave her here, but it's too dangerous to take her with us to Oklahoma…_

"Calm down, Leah. There's nothing to worry about. Yet." Edward extended his arm as if he were going to put his hand on her shoulder and Leah jumped back, reacting instinctively. She couldn't stand the thought of his cold dead hand touching her.

Edward inclined his head and held his hand up palm out. "I'm sorry. It's part of my nature to try to comfort someone in distress."

"I'm not distressed."

"If you say so."

That's what was so infuriating about trying to have a conversation with a mind reader. It was impossible to lie.

"Theresa is attracted to George, but she doesn't understand the physical … yearnings she feels. You need to explain the facts of life soon. Don't make the same mistake Bella and I did with Renesmee."

"What mistake?" _Like conceiving her in the first place … _"Oh crap, I didn't mean that. I'm just so used to being sarcastic the thought just popped into my head."

Edward the gentleman disappeared and Edward the evil blood-sucker took his place. His tone of voice was so over-controlled that even the silence between words was heavy with an unspoken threat. Edward was pissed.

"Renesmee was unplanned, _not_ a mistake. Much like your own daughter."

"Theresa was not a…" _Oh, I see what you mean._

"Good. Now what I was trying to tell you is that you have to let go of any preconceived ideas of what your child _should _feel and deal with what she _is_ feeling. Don't let your own fears cloud your judgement. And for heaven's sake don't try to keep her away from George. It won't work. It will only make her want him more."

Leah felt the warning tremor slide down her spine and forced it back. He had no right to tell her how to raise her daughter, but it wouldn't be a good idea to phase in front of a vampire.

"I don't want to hurt you, Leah. But I will defend myself."

_Just shut the hell up and let me cool down!_

Edward nodded his head once and took a step back and then another.

"Keep in mind that George is not a shifter. He did not imprint on your daughter. In fact, he has a horrible crush on … someone else."

"Luca?" Who else would it be? She and Nessie were the only female hybrids the poor kid wasn't related to.

Edward closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I shouldn't have said anything. But no, it isn't Luca." He looked up as a ray of sunlight burst through the clouds. Edward's sparkly, freak-show skin shot prismatic beams of light over Leah's body. It made her skin crawl. "And you should know better than to assume that love is limited to one's own species."

"Well, I really don't care who he's crushing on as long as it isn't my daughter."

"You should."

"Why?"

"Because it has the potential to cause Theresa a great deal of emotional pain."

Leah had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "It's Sarah Isabella. Isn't it?"

Jake and Nessie's daughter was Theresa's best friend. Or at least she had been until she'd zipped right past Theresa in every way possible. She'd had an AA of fifteen the last time Leah had checked.

"Sixteen."

"Oh crap. Is it mutual?"

"Yes, but neither of them knows of the other's feelings. I'm hoping it will fizzle out—the way young love often does—before anyone gets hurt."

###

Well, speak of the devil. Nessie's car was parked in the driveway, blocking Leah's. Leah was surprised to hear all sorts of laughter ringing out of the house before she got to the front porch. Edward's grin was meant to be reassuring, except Leah knew what his bright, shiny, impossibly white teeth were capable of. His mouth was a lethal weapon.

"As is yours."

"Touche'."

Edward lowered his voice and Leah forced herself not to recoil from the stench of his icy breath on her neck. "George and Sarah Isabella are pretending to ignore each other by giving Theresa their undivided attention. She's enjoying it very much."

A surge of warmth spread through Leah's chest when Theresa jumped up on the sofa between Sarah Bell and George, her face beaming and waving the game controller in her hand. "Mom, look who's here!"

"Hey, Sarah." Leah nearly choked when Sarah Isabella Black looked over her shoulder and smiled at her.

"Hi, Auntie Leah."

Oh. My. Gosh. Jake and Nessie's daughter had always been a charmer, but when had she turned into such a heart-breaking beauty?

Edward sighed. "About a month ago."

"Tess! Pay attention, George is about to pass you!"

Theresa spun half-way around and landed on her butt, squealing with mock dismay. George and Sarah Bell jostled Theresa—and therefor each other—as they all leaned and twisted in tandem with the cartoonish race cars on the screen.

Leah heaved a sigh of relief. It looked like her baby girl was safe for a little while longer. But if she were Nessie, she'd put that sexy little vixen of hers on the pill immediately.

A low growl from the other side of the room sent a tremor down Leah's spine and she had to focus really hard not to react to the audible threat. _What the hell? _Oh, yeah … Edward. He probably didn't like Leah's birth control suggestion for his granddaughter. It probably wouldn't work anyway. Jake and Nessie still hadn't figured out how to…

"Hey, Edward, calm down, bro. We have a dog in the house." _Emmett._ Leah refused to let him get to her. Unfortunately, Theresa wasn't quite as thick skinned.

###

You could have heard a pin drop. Well, actually they all could hear just about anything drop irregardless of the noise level, but the room was deathly quiet in the wake of Emmett's unintentionally cruel remark.

Theresa's lips parted and her eyes filled with tears before she ran from the room. Leah, Rose and Sarah nearly knocked each other over in their hast to get to Theresa.

George jumped to his feet, threw his controller onto the sofa, and glared at his father. "You are such an ass!"

"Now, Georgie, you know you shouldn't talk to me like that. Show some respect."

"What the hell, Dad? You're going to lecture me about respect after what you just said in front of Sarah?"

Every muscle in Leah's body tensed, her fingers digging into the stair rail. Sure, Sarah was half-shifter so George was right to be concerned about her feelings, but what about Theresa? Didn't he see her run out of the room? Couldn't he hear her broken-hearted sobs coming from the bathroom upstairs?

###

Word spread through the pack like wild-fire. They all wanted to go check out the rogue wolf, but it was just the Call family plus a very moody Sam Uley on the road to Oklahoma. Emily was too sick to travel. Besides, Sam and Emily had a hard time finding anyone willing to babysit long enough for them to go out for dinner. No one was going to take on the Uley pack for two weeks.

The Cullen's offered to fly them to Tahlequah in their helicopter but that idea was shot down as soon as it was offered. No one knew what sort of shape Joshua was going to be in and it would be a horrible idea to show up with even a trace of vamp-stink on anyone. That's why Jake and Nessie weren't going. Even a half-vamp could complicate things. And things were complicated enough as it was.

Sam came up with the idea of taking Mary Call with them. The wolf in the tabloid was obviously out of control. If the wolf in the tabloid was Joshua Uley, that meant he'd been on his own and separated from his imprint for more than a quarter of a century. He had to be at least a little bit crazy, if not completely insane.

There was nothing quite like an imprint to calm an out-of-control shifter. So, Embry told his mother what he was. She didn't believe him. He and Leah even _showed_ her what they were, but that only convinced her that she was hallucinating from alcohol withdrawal again even though she'd been sober ever since Embry donated half his liver to save her life.

In the end it was Emily that convinced her. She told her how it felt when Sam imprinted on her. Mary remembered the first time she looked into Joshua's eyes … and believed.

###


End file.
